


Not a date

by Misila



Series: Gou/Isuzu [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/F, Family, Fluff, Humor, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 19:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16046600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misila/pseuds/Misila
Summary: Walking right next to Gou, laughter so loud Haruka can hear it from fifty metres away.Red, short hair and yellow, falcon-like eyes—A Mikoshiba, indeed.Just the one Rin wasn’t expecting.





	Not a date

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set around one year after Season 3, with Isuzu and Gou already in college.

 

 

 

 

That winter afternoon, there is something undeniably _weird_ about Gou.

At first Rin doesn’t notice. Gou walking up and down the house, picking things she forgot in the wrong room to leave them somewhere else again is nothing out of the ordinary— but the fourth time Rin glances up from his phone and catches a glimpse of yet another set of clothes in the wake of his sister’s rushed steps down the hallway he forgets about the open chat and Haruka’s _you sure you dont want another iwatobichan keychain_ in favour of walking out of his bedroom.

“Gou?” Rin follows his sister, halts when she steps in the bathroom and closes the door in his face. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing.” Running water muffles Gou’s voice, a little; the door opens as she turns off the tap, but her face is hidden behind a towel. “I messed up my make-up, that’s all.”

“No, I mean…” Rin steps aside to let his sister head out of the bathroom, towards her own bedroom. “It’s not like you to dress up so nicely. Where are you going?”

Gou spins on her heels, the wide skirt of her dress fluttering around her thighs as she turns to face her brother. “Do I look well?”

While Rin is certainly not the most suited to comment on girls’ clothes –or girls in general, for that matter–, he does think Gou is beautiful, has ever since they were little. She’s letting her hair grow out since she graduated from high school, and her red locks now reach her waist, curl at the tips against the pale yellow of her dress.

“Yeah,” Rin admits. “But where are you—”

Gou rushes inside her bedroom again, spins in front of her stand-up mirror before picking a black pencil and starting anew. Rin leans on the doorframe, watches her catch her tongue between her teeth as she draws a line along the edge of her eyelid.

“I’m going out,” she eventually answers, starting with the other eye. Rin snorts. “What?”

“I deduced that myself. I’m just curious about your companion.”

Gou sets the pencil down, turns towards him, eyes narrowed. The faintest pink touches her cheekbones. “I’m just going out with a friend, no need to get overprotective with me.”

“I wasn’t going to!” Rin replies, stepping off the doorframe. “And anyway, I get interrogated every time I go out with Haru, so spill it out.”

“I’m not going on a date,” Gou hisses through her teeth, and Rin can’t tell whether she’s irritated at his curiosity or at the blush spreading across her cheeks “it’s not the same. I’m helping out Mik—… ah, my friend, to buy something nice for a party.” She approaches her brother, pushes him out of the room; and Rin could easily refuse to budge but Gou’s entire face is red by now so he lets her kick him to the hallway and slide the door shut.

He stares at the door, listens to his sister’s incessant stomping inside the room.

_“Mik—…”_

Rin might be a bit overbearing, but he is no fool.

Mikoshiba?

_Oh, God, no._

Did Gou finally fell for Momo? Or for Rin’s former upperclassman?

Both options cause Rin a mighty need to slam his head against the closest hard surface equally.

But he is a professional swimmer and he needs to keep his head pretty and hydrodynamic, so instead Rin goes back to his bedroom to retrieve his phone, and when he unlocks it Haruka is still trying to convince him to decorate his entire house with handmade Iwatobi-chan keychains.

 

_you have anything to do this afternoon?_

 

It takes his boyfriend two whole minutes to answer, and when he does Gou is ready to leave.

 

_right now?_

_no, tomorrow_

_yes when else_

_you’re soaking in your bathtub again aren’t you_

_so what if i am_

 

Rin bites onto his lower lip as Gou runs along the hallway again, frowns when she heads downstairs and bids farewell to their mother before rushing out, slamming the door shut in her wake.

 

_get out of the water_

_I’m picking you up in ten minutes_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Haruka wasn’t sure what to expect when Rin told him to get ready quickly, but spending the afternoon tracking Gou down definitely wasn’t in his plans.

“Aren’t we too old to spy on your little sister’s date?”

“We’re not spying anyone,” Rin defends himself. Haruka doesn’t even raise his eyebrows; perhaps if he stares long enough his boyfriend will realise by himself. “I don’t even know where she is. It’s a nice walk around the city centre, we might just run into Gou by chance.”

Their elbows bump into each other’s as they walk out of the parking, and Haruka wants to hold Rin’s hand but _this is not Sydney_ , so he shoves his hands further into his pockets and wonders how long it will take him to save up enough for another trip to Australia once Rin leaves after Christmas. The scarf hiding half his face from the cold most likely doesn’t conceal his scowl, but Rin isn’t looking at him and Haruka manages to come up with something to say before he does:

“Do you even know if Gou is in this area?”

“Everyone goes on dates in this area,” Rin replies quickly, and he looks confident about his affirmation until he sees Haruka’s frown. “Okay, not us. But that’s because you’re about as romantic as a sunfish.”

“I like the beach better,” Haruka admits, unbothered. He also likes sunfishes. “Or the pool.”

Rin’s eyes narrow, tender and bright when he smiles. “But here are cinemas and malls for regular dates. And Gou can hardly swim, so they’re… probably…”

Rin slows down, though, steps eventually coming to a halt before they enter a plaza. Haruka halts too, a couple of metres ahead.

“What?”

“Gou likes muscles,” Rin declares. Haruka snorts— did it take him this long to notice? “Maybe Captain—… Or Momo… Maybe they used that to lure her into a pool.”

Haruka rolls his eyes. At Rin’s absurd worry, at being dragged into this and missing precious hours he could spend soaking in his bathtub— and perhaps a bit at himself because he’s stupidly excited about spending the afternoon with Rin.

Something catches his attention before he can tell Rin he is an idiot, though. Haruka tilts his head to the side, mouth opening in shock.

“Your sister’s there,” he announces, pointing towards the other end of the street just as Gou’s striking hair flies when she and her companion turn right sharply and walk in a shop, miraculously not seeing Haruka and Rin.

“Yeah, it’s her,” Rin confirms. “But—… is that…?”

Walking right next to Gou, laughter so loud Haruka can hear it from fifty metres away.

Red, short hair and yellow, falcon-like eyes—

_A Mikoshiba, indeed._

Just the one Rin wasn’t expecting.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Gou spends half an hour nosing around the shop with Mikoshiba Isuzu; Rin sits on a bench in a nearby park with Haruka, relief flooding his bones. The Sun is already setting, but the cold is a good excuse to sit close, leaning against each other even if anyone can see them.

“She didn’t lie,” he comments, surprised by his own words. “She’s usually not that concerned with her appearance, so I thought she just didn’t want to tell me…”

Haruka seems too busy toying with his scarf to pay attention, but he glances up at Rin’s words.

“I can see why.”

Rin elbows him. “Shut up.” He watches the steam pushing words out of his mouth, crystallising them in dusk. “I’m so glad she’s not dating either of them… I mean, they’re cool, but… too loud.”

Haruka frowns.

“…So she’s not on a date?”

The question throws Rin off.

“Huh, no? They’re shopping together.”

Haruka’s silence doesn’t sound like he agrees.

 

 

* * *

 

 

If he’s being honest with himself, Haruka has never been one to pay attention to couples— and people in general. He spent his childhood dwelling on loneliness he used to think he liked and half his adolescence looking back at a crying Rin that ran away from him. He only started looking around a couple of years ago, with the realisation of wanting his world to be wider than the high school pool.

And he supposes he still has a lot to catch up with, but he’s no fool.

(Rin is.)

When they stand up, stiff from the cold, and head outside the park, the redhead nearly falls down in his rush to hide from his sister, who is walking in through the gates— with Mikoshiba Isuzu.

Rin pushes Haruka behind a thick magnolia, so suddenly he loses his balance. And Haruka might be doing well keeping his hands to himself so far, but he’s not about to go down alone; he grabs on Rin’s coat, the two of them toppling over on the hard, freezing ground.

Rin’s wide-eyed terror stands out against the indefinite colour of the starless night, but there is laughter lodged in the corners of his mouth. The seconds as Gou and Isuzu walk past their sloppy hideout last an eternity; when Haruka reaches for his lips he’s smiling too, amused because everything about this afternoon is completely absurd but he couldn’t care less because he’s spending it with Rin.

Soon Rin draws back, though, kneels up and peeks around the tree to make sure his sister won’t catch them. Haruka sits up to pry, too, not understanding Rin’s stillness until he spots the two girls.

“That looks a bit like a date,” he points out.

Rin shakes his head. “With another girl? Nah.”

Haruka takes a deep breath before replying, because Gou and Isuzu’s hands are laced now they’re safe between the trees and Rin is being purposefully obnoxious. And his boyfriend is the one supposed to be mindful of people around them.

“…so they can’t date because they’re both girls? Then what about us?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Rin grunts, visibly bothered now. “Girls hold hands all the time and Gou… Gou doesn’t…”

But he doesn’t find the words and Haruka leans back on his hands. He patiently watches as Rin’s defiance crumbles down, the façade shattering to give way for honest confusion.

“My sister isn’t into girls!” Rin finally blurts out, a hiss that isn’t as loud as it is frustrated. “She likes big beefy guys.”

Haruka throws a glance at the girls. The cold night brings Gou’s voice to him, but he can’t make out her words. “I think she likes Isuzu too.”

He reaches out to tuck a red lock behind Rin’s ear; the dampness in the ground seeps through his clothes, but Haruka doesn’t really mind the cold. Behind the magnolias, out of the pathway, nobody can frown on them. Both he and Rin, and Gou and Isuzu, are safe from scorn and rejection between the trees at night.

Rin raises his hand to grab Haruka’s wrist, thumb on his pulse as he leans his cheek against Haruka’s fingers. He looks at the couple walking away, and a small smile quirks his lips up.

“I think Mum’s going to make salmon tonight,” he eventually mutters, gaze hopping back on Haruka. “Wanna stay over?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Matsuoka Miyako has a headache, so she goes to bed right after dinner, not without making completely sure Haruka likes her fish. Rin isn’t as embarrassed about it as he was the first time he brought his boyfriend home –and his mother having learnt about the nature of their relationship since then certainly helps–, but it’s still relieving when she leaves the pair on their own. Even though Haruka looks all but bothered by her presence.

Rin can barely contain his envy at Steve’s liking for Haruka; he tries to take advantage to pet his cat when he’s distracted by his boyfriend, but in an unexpected display of speed Steve’s claws reach him before he can draw back. Rin ends up with four parallel cuts across the back of his hand, blows on the bleeding wounds until Haruka emerges victorious from the bathroom, with the first-aid kit as a trophy.

“That cat hates me,” Rin complains, hissing at the sting as Haruka disinfects the wounds. Steve is still glaring at him, curled up next to the altar. The nerve. “Yes, you.”

“Stop moving,” Haruka orders, grabbing Rin’s fingers tighter to prevent him from drawing back. He blows on Rin’s hand, thumb caressing his knuckles.

Rin doesn’t think such fuss is necessary; his mother makes sure Steve is up to date with his vaccines and the cat is too lazy and fat to wander off on his own anyway. But something about Haruka’s conscientiousness makes looking away nearly impossible, so Rin keeps watching in spite of the burning touches of the gauze, until he finds words to voice a question that has followed him from the park where Isuzu and Gou were holding hands.

“Haru?” Haruka glances up for the briefest second. “How is Mik—… Isuzu?”

A hum leaves his boyfriend’s throat. “I don’t see her much.”

“She’s in the same university as you,” Rin reminds him; even he knows that much. Haruka nods just barely. “What do you think about her?”

It takes Haruka a while to answer; Rin doesn’t interrupt him, watches the pensive glow in his eyes gradually shift into decisiveness.

“She races me every now and then at practice,” he recalls; there is fondness in his voice. “She’s good. And she plays _Deep Sea Crossing_ … And she’s really loud.”

“Like her brothers, then.” When Rin glances away, in the direction of the altar, Steve seems physically upset by his good mood; the cat stands up and leaves the living room in small, slow steps. “It’s… a bit weird to think about,” Rin admits after a while. “Perhaps because I don’t like girls at all, but liking _both_ boys and girls sounds strange.

“Maybe that’s why she didn’t tell me.”

“She didn’t tell you because you’re overwhelming and hate the Mikoshiba siblings,” Haruka argues, not even bothering to look up.

“I don’t!” Rin replies. “I just think they’re a bit exhausting… Captain and Momo, at least. And I didn’t even interrupt their date!”

“What a miracle.”

Rin has no reply to that, so he stays quiet until Haruka considers his hand is clean enough to stop pouring peroxide in the wounds; it’s only then that another question makes way through the sleepiness clinging to his shoulders after having dinner.

“Do you like girls?”

To that Haruka halts, stops tidying up the kit. This time he looks up, but not at Rin.

“…I don’t know,” he eventually admits. Slowly, in that reserved tone that means every word. “I’ve never liked one… I like water, and I like you.” Pink clings to his cheeks when his eyes meet Rin’s. “But I know I’d like you the same if you were a girl.”

He promptly looks down again, fingers trembling a bit as he gathers the bloodstained gauzes in a pile to throw them away.

Before Rin can think of something to say in return, though, he hears the front door opening, recognises his sister taking her shoes off and padding along the hallway until she peeks in the living room.

“Good evening, Onii-chan. Oh, Haruka-senpai too, hi,” she greets, eyes widening when she spots her brother’s hand. “Did you try to pet Steve again?”

“No,” Rin lies, but Haruka chooses the same exact moment to let out a quiet _yes_ and Gou raises an amused eyebrow. “Oi, Haru, I thought you were on my side.”

Gou lets out a quiet laughter. “Mum is already asleep, I guess…”

“She had a headache.”

“Oh. I’m going to sleep too, then.”

Rin bites onto his lower lip, recalls Haruka’s earlier words. “How did it go?” he eventually asks. “With your friend.”

It’s nearly comical, sometimes, how their similarity goes beyond physical traits. Just like a few hours prior, heat crawls up Gou's cheeks, painting them red, and she looks close to outright evaporating at Rin’s question.

“It was—… I had fun.” She links her hands together, but Rin still notices the tremors shaking her fingers. He has no time to wonder about it, though, for she immediately speaks again. “I’ll… tell you about it tomorrow, okay?”

Rin feels his eyes widen, can see the small smile in Haruka’s lips out of the corner of his eye.

“Okay.”

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> My skin is clear and my social anxiety cured because Momo, Gou and Isuzu are powerful bisexuals. And I had a chance to talk about Haruka and Rin, too... I feel I should include a 'Rin has trouble understanding bisexuality' tag.
> 
> (PS: this will totally have a sequel)
> 
> If you liked the story, you can leave a comment and tell me your thoughts!


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